Empirical studies have suggested that stock returns can be predicted by ï¬nancial variables such as the dividend-price ratio. However, these studies typically ignore the high persistence of predictor variables, which can make ï¬rst-order asymptotics a poor approximation in ï¬nite samples. Using a more accurate asymptotic approximation, we propose two methods to deal with the persistence problem. First, we develop a pretest that determines when the conventional t-test for predictability is misleading. Second, we develop a new test of predictability that results in correct inference regardless of the degree of persistence and is efficient compared to existing methods. Applying our methods to US data, we ï¬nd that the dividend-price ratio and the smoothed earningsprice ratio are sufficiently persistent for conventional inference to be highly misleading. However, we ï¬nd some evidence for predictability using our test, particularly with the earnings-price ratio. We also ï¬nd evidence for predictability with the short-term interest rate and the long-short yield spread, for which the conventional t-test leads to correct inference.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
John H. Cochrane, 1999.
"New Facts in Finance,"
CRSP working papers
490, Center for Research in Security Prices, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.
[Downloadable!]
Evans, G B A & Savin, N E, 1981.
"Testing for Unit Roots: 1,"
Econometrica,
Econometric Society, vol. 49(3), pages 753-79, May.
[Downloadable!] (restricted)
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.) This item has more than 25 citations. To prevent cluttering this page, these citations are listed on a separate page.